I'll Always Be by Your Side
by Kousagi Angel
Summary: AU. After Takahiro passes away, Akihiko offers to let Misaki stay with him. Akihiko finds himself falling for the teen, but Misaki only seems to be becoming more depressed. Can he save Misaki from himself or will he lose him forever? Usagi/Misaki.
1. Chapter 1

I'll Always Be by Your Side

Disclaimer: I do not under any circumstances own Junjou Romantica.

Summary: Slightly AU. After Takahiro dies Akihiko offers to let Misaki stay with him.

Hm, I was reading a Death Note fic and listening to Itsumo Soba Ni, and this idea came up 0_o. How, I have no idea. I don't want Takahiro to die, but somebody has to for the story to continue on, and it just so happened that I couldn't think of anyone else who was important to Misaki and not already dead… Anyway, moving on!

Chapter One

Akihiko sighed as he came up to the funeral. Truthfully, he didn't want to be here at all. He preferred to be holed up in his apartment, sulking in his own misery then perhaps dying of starvation so he could be with his beloved Takahiro. But, here he was being forced by the editor from Hell Aikawa, to be at Takahiro's funeral. And just to make sure he went, Aikawa was right behind him watching his every move. "What kind of friend are you if you don't even go to his funeral?" Had been her words and with that, she had dragged him here.

Soon after being seated, the priest began chanting the sutra and they once again had to get up. Throughout the ceremony, Akihiko's gaze kept flickering over to the teen who sat nearest to the front. _'That must be Takahiro's brother.' _He thought to himself. The boy was staring unseeingly at the ground and seemed to be doing everything in his power not to break down. Akihiko felt his heart go out to the boy.

"C'mon Usami-sensei, let's go." Aikawa said, but he wasn't listening. "Usami-sensei?" She turned to see the man gone. Her mouth dropped open when she saw the man walking up to the boy whom was sitting at the front. "What the hell are you doing?" She hissed.

"Paying my respects." Akihiko replied smugly.

Almost everyone was already gone and only a few people were still left. Misaki slowly pushed himself up, deciding that he should head home and start packing, there was no way he could afford that apartment anymore without Takahiro. He bumped into somebody. "Ah, excuse me." He said, surprised at the sound of his raspy voice.

"It's quite alright." Akihiko said. "I wanted to talk to you anyway. I'm Usami Akihiko." He introduced himself. Akihiko's breath caught as the teen looked up at him, his green eyes shining with unshed tears. "You're Misaki, right?" Akihiko asked.

"H-hai." Misaki replied.

"I've heard a lot about you from your brother. He used to talk about you all the time." Akihiko said, smiling lightly. "Hey, you don't have any where to stay right? Why don't you stay with me?" He offered. Aikawa's jaw dropped even farther, if that was even possible.

"Eh? Oh, no I don't think I could do that." Misaki said, shaking his head.

"Please? It's the least I could do for Takahiro to make sure his little brother has a place to stay and food to eat." Akihiko said trying to convince the teen. He didn't know what came over him, but he wanted to help this boy.

"But, I don't have any money and I wouldn't be able to pay you."

"Nonsense, you can stay free of charge." Akihiko said, surprising both Aikawa and Misaki.

"I couldn't do that-"

Aikawa cut him off. "Boy, he's offering you a place to stay instead of being out on the streets and letting you stay for free no less. Take the offer, because something like this won't come up again."

"If it makes you feel any better, you can pay the rent by doing chores and such. So, what do you say?" Akihiko asked, smiling.

Misaki contemplated for a moment before replying, "Fine. I just have to go pick up my stuff."

Akihiko smiled brightly, feeling victorious. The three of them left the shrine and to Akihiko's red sports car. They drove to Misaki's apartment and picked up his stuff before driving to Akihiko's home.

"You can have the guest room, up there." Akihiko pointed to the second floor and Misaki nodded. Akihiko watched as the teen trudged up the stairs, and sighed.

"Usami-sensei, I don't know what you're planning but please, don't hurt Misaki-kun." Aikawa said, as she picked up her purse and started leaving. Right as she opened the door, she paused for a second. "Oh yes, and one more thing. YOU BETTER HAVE YOUR MANUSCRIPT READY BY TOMORROW! Ja ne!" With that, she was gone.

Akihiko sighed dejectedly. This was going to be hard.

--

Hm, well that's all I can come up with for now. I hope you're happy, because I feel bad for neglecting my other two stories which haven't been updated for like two months… Anyway, if you enjoyed it and want more, please review!


	2. Chapter 2

I'll Always Be by Your Side

Disclaimer: I do not own Junjou Romantica!

Sorry about the last chapter, I was in a rush and was more concentrated on getting the story down then anything, and made the characters a little OCC (well in my opinion). But don't worry; that'll all be fixed in this chapter, I hope…

Anyways, since I didn't put it in the last chapter, this is set before Akihiko and Misaki ever meet, and Misaki is still in high school (and still a D-student with no tutoring whatsoever). Now that that has been said, let's get on with the story!

Chapter Two

Misaki stared down at the old photo in his hand and once again, felt the tears welling up in his eyes. Sobs racked his body and the photo was discarded onto the floor, forgotten. He couldn't believe it; his brother was gone and wasn't coming back. It all seemed like a horrible nightmare that he hoped to wake-up from. But, he knew it would never happen. Takahiro wasn't coming back and neither were his parents, he was all alone. This brought on another onslaught of tears. Misaki brought his knees up to his chest and let the pain and sadness wash over him.

_CRASH_

Misaki bolted up, startled at the noise. Hesitantly, he made his way to the door and slowly opened it.

"TAKAHIRO!"

Looking down, Misaki saw his new landlord leaning against the sofa, obviously drunk. On the wall opposite of Akihiko were the remnants of what Misaki guessed used to be a bottle of alcohol. Akihiko wiped his mouth with his sleeve as he swayed back and forth. Worried about the man, Misaki quickly went downstairs to help him.

"Usami-san?" Misaki asked nervously as he neared the author.

"WHY?! WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME, TAKAHIRO?!" Akihiko yelled, staggering. Misaki grabbed for the man as Akihiko tripped over the sofa. Unfortunately, being the smaller of the two, he only managed to get pulled down with the older man. Groaning, Misaki opened his eyes to see Akihiko on top of him. "Why…?" Akihiko whispered brokenly the smell of alcohol strong on his breath.

Struggling, Misaki managed to push the man off of him. Misaki sighed as he looked down at the man who seemed to have fallen asleep. Deciding that he couldn't just leave Akihiko there, Misaki wrapped his arm around the man's shoulders and heaved him up, and then staggered their way up the staircase. With his foot, he kicked open the door to Akihiko's room. His jaw dropped as all the various toys in Akihiko's room came into view. There were toy trains on the floor, model airplanes hung from the ceiling, and teddy-bears were scattered everywhere, it was unbelievable. In the middle of all the chaos was a giant king-sized bed.

After getting over his momentary shock, he pulled Akihiko up once again and tried to drag the older man through the cluttered room. Figuring that it'd be impossible to lift the man up onto the bed, he decided to get onto the bed himself and try to pull Akihiko onto it. Finally, after various tries, he managed to get the older man onto the bed. Misaki sighed heavily as he was about to get up, but before he could do so, two arms wrapped around him and pulled him back.

"Ah!" Misaki yelped. "Let go!" He screeched as he tried to pry the man's arms off of him, only to have Akihiko tighten his grip. Turning around in the man's grip, Misaki attempted to push Akihiko away. "DAMMIT!" After having struggled for what seemed like hours, Misaki finally gave up. Realizing that the author wouldn't wake-up or let go anytime soon, he reluctantly let himself fall asleep.

…

Somewhere in the middle of the night, Akihiko realized that what he was holding was definitely not Suzuki-san, unless Suzuki-san somehow miraculously grew and became living, though Akihiko doubted that highly. Instead, what he was holding onto was a person. Why the person was in his bed, he had no clue, but it was better than holding a lifeless Suzuki-san.

Suddenly, the alarm clock sitting on the bedside table went off. Before it could ring a second time, Akihiko grabbed it and threw it against the wall causing it to break into a thousand pieces. _'Damn Aikawa.' _The author thought warily. He could swear the woman was out to get him or something. Sighing he let go of the mysterious person and got out of the bed.

The person moaned a little before turning in the bed. "_Nii-chan…_"

Akihiko's eyes widened as yesterday's events came flooding back into his mind. Takahiro's funeral, offering to let Misaki stay with him, and trying to drink his sorrows away. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He couldn't believe it, Takahiro was gone. Akihiko felt as his heart beat painfully against his chest and tried to suppress the shudder that ran through his body.

He clenched his eyes shut as he tried to push away the memories of that fateful day. He couldn't protect him. For that one moment, he wasn't able to protect the one he loved.

"_I'm sorry, we did everything that we could…"_

The doctor's words rang in his ears, but still he didn't want to believe it. "Why him?" He asked out loud. As the tears started leaking past his eyelids.

…

After having been yelled at by Misaki for supposedly holding him captive all night, Akihiko stumbled downstairs and sat down at the dinning table. As Misaki started preparing breakfast for the two of them, Aikawa came over as per usual to retrieve Akihiko's manuscript.

"USAMI-SENSEI~~!!" Aikawa sang loudly as she entered the apartment. Akihiko just groaned and sipped his coffee. "Oh, don't be that way you good-for-nothing author. Now, fork over that manuscript." She ordered, placing her hands on her hips and tapping her foot impatiently.

"It's not ready." Akihiko stated.

"WHAT?!" Aikawa screeched as she grabbed the man's neck and choked him. "BUT THAT MANUSCRIPT WAS DUE LAST WEEK! WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU FINISHED?!" Aikawa understood that Akihiko had lost someone important to him and that it was hard for him to continue, but she could get in trouble if he didn't have that manuscript done.

"I can't finish it." Akihiko said simply.

"W-what? Why not?" She asked.

"I don't have anymore inspiration." Akihiko replied.

"Ehhh??? B-b-but you have to get that finished, you can't just quit." Aikawa said.

"I can and I will." Akihiko replied.

Aikawa slowly let go of the man and stepped back. What was she going to do? She needed someone to help Akihiko out of his writer's block, but whom?

Misaki walked out of the kitchen and placed a plate in front of Akihiko. "Oh, hello Aikawa-san, would you like me to get you something?" He asked her.

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in her head. "Misaki-kun!" She exclaimed happily as she grabbed his face.

"W-what is it?" Misaki asked nervously, scared of the strange gleam in her eyes.

"We need your help!" She said.

"With what?" Misaki asked.

"See, Usami-sensei is having trouble writing his story and we need you to help him." Aikawa explained. "Please, Misaki-kun, you'd be a great help if you did." She said, giving him puppy-eyes.

"Ahh, what kind of book is he writing?" Misaki asked curiously.

"A BL." Aikawa and Akihiko stated in unison. All the color in Misaki's face drained and he backed away from Aikawa.

"H-hah?"

"Please, Misaki-kun, you're our last hope." Aikawa begged. "I'll do anything!"

Misaki gulped. _'Oh, boy.' _

--

Yep, yep, yep! That's it for now peoples! If you like it and would like more, please review! Ciao~!


	3. Chapter 3

I'll Always Be by Your Side

Disclaimer: I do not own Junjou Romantica in any way, shape, or form. I am just a fan.

I'm sorry for the late update, but I have a reason! Everything on my computer was wiped off and the chapter I had written up was gone, so yea… Then again, that was about a month ago… Okay so I'm lazy, so sue me, but my computer really did lose everything and it's been a pain in the ass trying to get it all back. Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter Three

Misaki looked around the nearly empty apartment with watery eyes. His heart clenched painfully as the memories of him and his brother flashed through his head. Now there were only a few things left in the apartment, most of the stuff had gone into storage, while some of it went to Akihiko's apartment. Misaki sighed as he thought of his new landlord. Over the past two weeks he had been living with the man, he found that the author was positively crazy and not to mention a complete pervert. And not only that, but the man also wrote BL novels in which Misaki had had the displeasure of accidentally stumbling across one. He definitely did not want to do that again.

The day he had stumbled upon it was when Aikawa had asked him to be Akihiko's inspiration. He had made up the weak excuse that he had to get ready for the funeral (AN) despite the fact they still had three more hours before they had to go and quickly, he had rushed up the stairs, but unfortunately Aikawa wasn't one to give up so easily. She had chased after him, yelling profanities. Scared for his life, he ran into the nearest room which happened to be Akihiko's office and then slammed the door in her face.

After having locked the door, he turned around and stepped further into the office. But as soon as he did, he stepped on something. Picking it up, he saw that it was a book. Curious he turned to a random page and started reading. His face flamed up as he read the passage. Although, he knew it was wrong, he couldn't stop reading. Finally, he snapped by throwing the book at the wall and then started yelling curses, and damning the author.

How Takahiro had been able to stand Akihiko for that long was beyond Misaki. He himself was having trouble being around the man and it'd only been two weeks, but his brother had been friends with the author for ten years! Ten long years they had been the best of friends, yet his good-natured, naïve brother never seemed to take notice of Akihiko's strange, perverted behavior within that time span. Nope, the way his brother had talked about the Akihiko before was completely different from what he saw in the author. His brother had even created a cute nickname for the man; 'Usagi-san'. Misaki's nose scrunched up at the thought. Akihiko was nothinglike a rabbit and definitely did notfit the cutesy nickname.

'_Nii-chan… how did I end up in this mess?' _Misaki thought wearily, looking up at the ceiling. With one last look around, Misaki heaved the box he had packed and started for the door. Upon hearing something break underneath his foot, he stopped. Placing the box down beside him, he leaned down and grabbed what he had stepped on. Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at the now-broken picture frame that held a photo of him and his brother.

"Misaki, are you done yet?" Akihiko asked as he walked into the apartment, annoyed that he had to stay here longer than was necessary. It was too hard to bear to be in Takahiro's apartment, it brought on emotions that confused him that he'd rather have stomped down and forgotten. "Misaki?" He called out, after not hearing a reply.

Walking into the living room, he found Misaki sitting on his knees with tears streaming down his face. The sight just about broke Akihiko's heart. Without thinking, Akihiko walked over to the teen and pulled Misaki into his arms. At feeling someone's arms around him, he tensed and tried to push Akihiko away with tears still coming down his face, but Akihiko only tightened his grip. "Let go! Let go!" Misaki cried as he beat his fists against Akihiko's chest, trying to get him to let go, but to no avail. "Baka Usagi-san!" He sobbed, slurring the words.

Soon Misaki gave up and allowed Akihiko to continue embracing him as he sobbed. Misaki buried his face into Akihiko's chest as the sobs racked his body. "Shhh… it'll be okay." Akihiko whispered soothingly, allowing the boy to cry. A while later, the crying had subsided and Misaki's body had gone limp in Akihiko's arms. Akihiko smiled a little, watching as Misaki slept.

Akihiko slipped his hand under Misaki's legs and picked the teen up, and then proceeded to carry him out of the apartment. After getting downstairs and to his car, Akihiko placed Misaki in the passenger seat, buckling him in and then closing the door before walking over to his own side of the car.

…

Misaki yawned, stretching his arms over his head. _'What happened?' _He thought drowsily, as he glanced over to the clock on the bedside table, only to see that it wasn't there. Misaki blinked, where was his alarm clock? Looking around he realized he wasn't in his room; instead he was in Akihiko's. _'That would explain why there's no alarm clock.' _He thought wearily, shaking his head. _'But wait… if I'm here, where's Usami-san?' _

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he got up and walked towards the door, nearly tripping over the toy train which was currently making its route around the room. Glaring at the offending toy, Misaki stomped over to the door and opened it. Looking down, he saw that Akihiko was sleeping soundly on one of the couches in the living room. Frowning, Misaki went downstairs and tried shaking the author awake.

Akihiko groaned, trying to slap away Misaki's hand. "Usami-san, get up, you'll catch a cold." Misaki chided, continuing to shake Akihiko.

One violet eye popped open, giving the teen a death glare. Grouchily, Akihiko sat up emanating an aura of death as he glared at Misaki. "What?" He growled out.

Misaki shuddered at the sound of Akihiko's hoarse voice, but he was determined to stand his ground. "Usami-san, get up. You'll get sick if you sleep on the couch." Misaki chastised.

Misaki watched as Akihiko suddenly pouted. "Aw, you're not going to call me 'Usagi-san' anymore?"

"WHA-! T-THAT WAS AN ACCIDENT!" Misaki yelled embarrassedly, as a blush rose to his cheeks.

"Call me it."

"C-call you what?" Misaki asked, averting his eyes from the author's.

"'Usagi-san'," Akihiko said, pulling the boy into his lap.

"GAH! LET GO OF ME!" Misaki screeched.

"Call me it then." Akihiko ordered. "And I might just let you go."

Misaki turned an even deeper shade of red and glared at the ground. "U-Usa…gi-san." He ground out.

"That's a good boy." Akihiko said, as he climbed over the teen's body and began straddling him.

"H-HEY! YOU SAID YOU'D LET ME GO!" Misaki yelled, trying to push the man away.

"No, no, no, I said I _might _just let you go." Akihiko corrected.

"STOP IT! USAGI-SAN!!"

That morning Takahashi Misaki learned two things. One: never wake Akihiko lest he wanted to face the consequences. And two: crazy fangirls such as Aikawa who accidentally stumbled in on them would be absolutely no help whatsoever if he was being molested by the great Lord Usami Akihiko; in fact they were the complete opposite of help, they were usually the kind of people who offered to take pictures of it and then keep one as a keepsake so they could 'Kyaa!' over it later.

'_Nii-chan, please help me.' _

--

AN: Funerals in Japan usually last for two days. The first day you perform the wake, pray, and offer incense to the dead, and if they want family members can stay over night with their dead relative. And the next day they cremate the body. Hm, I'm thinking I should've had Misaki stay the night with Takahiro, but at the time I wasn't really thinking of it…

Aw man, I got a little teary eyed writing the first part TT-TT poor Misaki. Anyway, if you enjoyed this chapter please review!


	4. Chapter 4

I'll Always Be By Your Side

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! Junjou Romantica is the property of Nakamura Shungiku!

Hey peoples! Erm, sorry for not updating for a while, my computer's busted (sad ain't it?) and I'm currently borrowing my mom's laptop. It probably isn't an excuse for not updating, but I was still recovering from my precious computer's death, it ran for a good four years. RIP…

Anyways, I got a review recently on this story and the reviewer wondered if I was one of those people who creates stories and then never completes them. Because I felt all of you should know this, I'll just reply to them here. NO, I hate those kinds of people; all of my stories will be updated eventually, maybe not as soon as you want them to be, but they'll be updated. Writer's block, procrastination, and all around laziness is why I take forever to update (and a bunch of hyperactive plot bunnies that bother me to no end).

Now, the story shall commence!

Chapter Four

Akihiko sighed as Misaki headed back upstairs to his bedroom. Misaki, for the most part, had hardly spoken a word since the incident in Takahiro's apartment. Whenever he came downstairs, his expression was carefully schooled to show no emotion, it was as if the teen had shut down. But, Akihiko could see through Misaki's façade. The bloodshot eyes and the dry tear tracks that the boy hadn't managed to successfully wash off. He could hear Misaki some nights, crying in his room softly to himself, it broke Akihiko's heart.

The author had his own grievances as well, but he couldn't possibly imagine what Misaki was going through. Misaki had gone through so much in his short life, his parents had passed away when he was eight and now his brother was gone as well. Akihiko would probably never understand the pain Misaki was going through; he and Haruhiko had never been particularly close, nothing in comparison to what Takahiro and Misaki had had, so Akihiko was sure he wouldn't be affected much if Haruhiko died. Sure, he'd probably be a bit sad, after all they were family, but he sure as hell wouldn't be torn up about it.

Hearing a loud noise from upstairs, Akihiko immediately jumped up from the couch and rushed to Misaki's room. Swinging the door open, Akihiko's heart practically stopped as he saw Misaki sprawled on the ground. Carefully, he scooped the teen into his arms and carried him out of the bedroom. Misaki was entirely too pale and much too thin for Akihiko's likes.

Thinking it'd take too long for an ambulance to get there, Akihiko decided to take Misaki to the hospital himself. Grabbing his keys, he quickly left the apartment and went down to his car. In no time, they were at the hospital and Akihiko ran into emergency looking like a madman, which he might as well have been.

…

Misaki groaned groggily. Upon opening his eyes, he immediately shut them again, momentarily blinded by the intense brightness. Trying once again to open his eyes, Misaki took in his surroundings. _'A hospital room?' _He pondered, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Turning his head to the side a bit, he saw Akihiko sitting next to his bed, sleeping.

He realized warily that he was hooked up to a machine and he wondered what had happened. He remembered feeling a bit woozy and heading upstairs, but that's where things got a little hazy.

"U-Usagi-san…?" He whispered, his voice cracking from not having used it for so long.

Akihiko stirred a bit. A violet eye cracked open and not too long after that the second one opened as well. Despite being a naturally grumpy person when woken up, all of that was pushed aside once he saw that Misaki was awake. Misaki yelped as Akihiko jumped up and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.

Misaki blushed, only to have it intensify once he heard the beeping from the machine starting to speed up. "U-Usagi-san… c-can't breathe…" He gasped. Akihiko's grip loosened, but he didn't relinquish his hold on the teen. "Usagi-san?" Misaki asked worriedly.

"Don't scare me like that again, Misaki." Akihiko stated softly. "I don't want to lose you too." Misaki's eyes widened and his heart fluttered, the blush on his face darkening even more. Hesitantly, he hugged Akihiko back.

A silence fell over the two for a while, the only sounds being their breathing and the beeping of the machine. Eventually, Akihiko pulled away and sat back down in his seat.

"What happened?" Misaki asked quietly.

"You fainted due to not enough sleep and not enough nutrients to sustain you." Akihiko informed him.

"Oh," Misaki stared down at his hands guiltily. He knew he hadn't been eating or sleeping very well, but he hadn't imagined it would get this bad.

"Don't feel bad, Misaki." Akihiko said, placing his hand over the teens own smaller one. "I know this is hard for you, but you'll pull through."

Misaki smiled a bit, truly wanting to believe those words. But, he didn't think he would. He had nothing left in this world. His brother, whom had always been a constant in his life, was gone and frankly, he didn't feel like he could get through it as he had last time. Takahiro had helped him with his parents' deaths, trying his hardest to fill the void their parents had filled. His brother had worked so hard and had done everything for Misaki, and now Misaki wouldn't even be able to pay his brother back for his kindness.

Nonetheless, he would try for Akihiko's sake. Akihiko seemed to genuinely care for him, but Misaki couldn't fathom why. Akihiko barely knew him, but yet, the man had sounded terrified at the thought of him dying. But, why? Why would Akihiko care so much? Was it because he felt some sort of obligation to Takahiro? Or was it something completely different?

A while later, a doctor came in and explained what had happened. The doctor prescribed him something to help him sleep and advised him to eat more food to get more nutrients. After that, he and Akihiko were able to leave.

Seeing that Misaki was still a little bit hazy, Akihiko had taken it upon himself to hold Misaki's hand, much to the boy's embarrassment. On the way home, they stopped for takeout because Misaki was in no condition to cook, and Akihiko just plain couldn't cook.

Akihiko made it his duty to make sure that Misaki got some sleep that night and stayed in the boy's room until Misaki fell asleep. It was a bit irritating to have Akihiko sitting in the corner of his room as he tried to fall asleep. Eventually, after pushing the creepy feeling of being watched to the back of his mind, Misaki fell into a deep peaceful sleep.

Akihiko smiled as Misaki's breathes evened out. Getting up, he made his way over to the door and left to his own bedroom. It had scared him when he found Misaki lying on the floor; it scared him that Misaki might have died tonight. Just the very thought that he'd lose Misaki was heart wrenching. The teen had grown on him in his short stay there and Akihiko couldn't bear the thought of losing another person important to him.

He'd have to help Misaki out of his depression and prove to the boy that he wasn't alone in his pain, and that he would make it through. It's what Takahiro would've wanted. He would've wanted his little brother to move on with his life and not mourn over things that were impossible to get back.

With this newfound plan in mind, Akihiko fell asleep. Tomorrow was a new day.

--

Yes, well, that's it. Please, forgive me for it's immense shortness, but my head is killing me. If you think it's going a bit too fast, I'm sorry, I'm a very impatient person. Anyways, if you enjoyed this chapter, please review!


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